10 easy adventures to have in the park

You don’t always need to go far to find an adventure.

Some of the best days out can happen close to home. Whether your local park has playgrounds, sports courts or picnic benches, it’s the perfect chance to head outdoors for some excitement and fresh air, and earn an adventure badge.

If you're doing or leading these activities as part of a Girlguiding group, make sure to check the activity guidelines and guidance on our adventure activity finder.

From trying new things and challenging yourself to making memories with your Girlguiding friends, here are 10 fantastic ways to turn a park visit into an action-packed, memorable adventure.

1. Practice navigating

Turn your park into a giant treasure hunt. Geocaching uses your smartphone’s GPS to track down hidden containers (caches) tucked away in clever spots. You could also try map reading for local walks or orienteering. These are a brilliant way to test your navigation skills and discover corners of the park you’ve never seen before.

2. Get some wheels

Pick up your helmet and strap on some safety pads. Whether you’re putting on roller skates, dusting off your scooter, or grabbing your bicycle to go cycling, take whatever wheels you can down to your local park. You might even be able to hire some. Test a new cycle path around the park, set up an obstacle course to practice turning or even try a dedicated pump track.

3. Go for a walk

Explore somewhere you’ve not been before. You could also make your usual walk more exciting by bringing a picnic, going in the rain and jumping in puddles, or taking a scavenger hunt to find different things. You could look for an item for every letter or the alphabet or every colour in the rainbow. Or why not take a book to read along the way, like ‘We’re going on a bear hunt’?

4. Meet animals or wildlife

Try and find a local farm. Lots of large parks are home to community farms, duck ponds and paddocks. Spending an hour petting goats, watching ducks, or meeting resident donkeys. You could also go birdwatching or wildlife spotting. If you're lucky, some larger parks even offer introductory horse riding sessions or pony treks.

5. Adventure playground

Lots of parks have adventure playgrounds. Give the roundabouts, slides and swings a go. Too easy? Challenge yourself to do better than before or time yourself to see how quickly you get to the top of the spider web or across all the monkey bars! If you want to go even higher, try out an adventure ropes course or zip wire activity.

6. Play a sport

There’s so many sports you can play in a park. You could pick up a ball and play rounders, cricket or football in a field. You could even pick up a frisbee and try ultimate frisbee or disc golf (using trees or designated baskets as targets. Your park may have a tennis or basketball court you could use, or even a mini golf course.

7. Boat hire

If your local park has a large pond or lake, you could see if you could hire a boat.

8. See some stars

Grab a blanket, a flask of hot chocolate, and head outside to go stargazing. Make sure there’s a responsible adult. National parks, dark sky areas or green spaces make excellent local spots for spotting constellations, looking for planets, or watching a full moon. There are lots of apps that can help you identify things and you might even be able to find a local stargazing event.

9. Make a splash

You might have a local sand play area for building sandcastles, a river to play pooh sticks on or a splash park for paddling in. You could have a refreshing paddle over summer, go pond dipping or see if you can make a boat out of leaves and sticks. For units, check out our guidance on activities that make a splash.

10. Winter fun

Fun in the park doesn’t just have to be in summer. When the frost comes, you can wrap up warm and head out on a fantastic frosty walk. You might also make some snow art or build a snow sculpture. You could even play a winter game of football or disc golf, or take on a winter scavenger hunt with a warm picnic and hot chocolate.